Hostettler to challenge Bayh

Former GOP Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) announced Thursday that he will challenge Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana in 2010.

In a YouTube video, Hostettler repeatedly ties Bayh to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, blaming the pair for what he calls a failed economic stimulus package.

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“Hoosiers need real jobs created by real companies that are not taxed and regulated to death by new big government boondoggles like government-run health care and cap-and-trade,” Hostettler says. “These new programs will only push jobs out of Indiana.”

Hostettler’s 12-year House career ended in 2006 in a crushing loss against now-Rep. Brad Ellsworth. During his time in Congress, Hostettler ranked among the most conservative members, but often proved to be a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership. In 2002 Hostettler was one of only six Republicans to vote against the Iraq war resolution and is a longtime critic of an expanded U.S. military presence abroad.

Bayh, a contender to be Barack Obama’s running mate in 2008 and an oft-mentioned prospective candidate for national office, won reelection in 2004 with 62 percent of the vote.

A member of the Republican class of 1994, Hostettler was a top Democratic target during his six House terms. He was known for his narrow victories and weak fundraising, a habit which cost him in 2006 when then-Vanderburgh County Sheriff Ellsworth ran on a socially conservative and economically populist platform and outspent Hostettler 3-to-1 in the Evansville-based 8th District.

The margin of Hostettler’s defeat—he lost 61 percent to 39 percent—represented a surprisingly weak performance for an incumbent, even in a strongly Democratic year.

Hostettler will not have the Republican primary field to himself: state Sen. Marlin Stutzman and Richard Behney, a plumbing contractor and anti-tax activist, are also seeking the GOP nod.